Hindsight
by softnerd
Summary: After the Battle of Manhattan, Apollo sits in a bar and thinks of his children. Perhaps, if he'd been a better father, a better person, his children wouldn't be weeping for their family, their friends. Perhaps, if he'd been there, they'd be here. R


review please. also this took me aprox. 35 minutes, so it most likely isn't my best work. i was just in a rather angsty mood. don't know why...

APOLLO'S POV

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**Hindsight**

"See anything you like, babe?" I heard a sweet voice ring out, I looked up from my beer and took in the sight of the bartender staring back at me, seductively licking her lips, grinning at me.

The woman was genuinely very sexy to me. I looked her up and down, her skirt was far tighter and higher than one that would be generally deemed proper. Her shirt was tight, showing off her perfectly places curves and large breasts. Her curly blonde hair cascaded carelessly to her back, and it framed her lovely face perfectly.

She had beautiful bright green eyes, my flirtatious smiled faltered as I saw her green eyes, so much like my own daughter's. Addison. We'd named her Addison when she was born. But -Julie Robins- the teenage girl I'd been so briefly entranced by, didn't just give birth to little Addy. But her little twin, Alexander, too.

My Julie named them for my sister and I, in hope they'd always be as close as we are. Addison Diana and Alexander Phoebus Robins. My sister always kept a close eye on the both of them, as did I. They were amusingly just like us. Addy, the thoughtful one, the one who kept her little brother in line, just so she could see him live to the next day. Alex, the irresponsible one, the one who gave everyone a hard time, and did it all with a blithe smile and his sweet, naive nature always shining in his eyes.

But, Alex was truly more like me than I ever imagined possible. For, despite his freewheeling air, if anyone ever had the means to harm his other half in anyway, they were destined to face his wrath. The boy idolized me, I knew this. It wasn't uncommon, but the sight of the sudden glow in his azure eyes- my eyes- as he caught sight of me, the warmth that spread through my body as his arms uncaringly wrapped around me in a hug. The unquestionable love he had for me, even though I was never there for him. All those small things made him so special to me. Addy was more cautious with me, she seemed to know I was an insubstantial and often unruly father. But I loved her, as much as her brothers and sisters, none the less. And she did love me, I know. For her eyes shone, too. Even when she hid behind her mother's legs as I smiled at her, when she was only a little girl. As I pondered the children I'd gained and lost, I did something rare.

I thought for a moment.

If this, _thing _were to continue the way it was headed, this woman was no doubt very loose, I'd have her easily. She would- most likely- fall pregnant with my child. I would have another baby. Perhaps, one day, that baby- that child- would be chosen as a hero, to go and conquer the world. To go and fight monsters, in honor of that child's father. In honor of me. To fight for me. Phoebus Apollo. Like Addy, Alex, Lee and Michael had done.

Had.

They never would again.

Michael, so small but so brave, dropped to his death from the bridge, saving his family. Thanks to Michael, his brothers and sisters would go onto have their own families. Find love, have long lives. Michael would not, I only hope he had died with the peace of mind knowing his siblings would be alright.

Lee greeted Hades' gates so suddenly. He hadn't seen it coming at all, I'd been watching, raising the sun as his young life vanished off the face of the planet in front of my eyes. A club to the head, he hadn't felt it and was so confused. I couldn't bare to watch as he argued with Hermes, the psychopomp, convinced it was all a horrible mistake. I wish with every fiber of my being that it had been.

Sweet, beautiful, little Addy fell at the blade of her enemy, another child that was so hurt by his own father that drove him to his deception, and she bled her life out in her poor Alex's arms, as he wept. That day, the sky cried with him, as I did.

Alex had died that same day, that same minute, that second, in his own way. His eyes never shone again, any smiles he had were forced masks to cover up the death of the gleeful, innocent boy that had died with his sister. They no longer warmed like a beautiful sun, but blinded like an unwanted fire. After the battle, after the demise of Kronos, the one who'd victimized so many of my children, I had approached my son, just yesterday. Alex is no longer a child. Far from it. I saw him as he clutched the hand of another boy- his best friend- as he gazed at his sister's golden shroud. Alex's handsome face was smeared with dirt and blood, but the dried tear stains made lines across his face, as he held back sobs with pride.

I'd started as I met the other boy's gaze. The boy comforting my son turned as I approached, a ferocious fire blazing in his eyes. He blamed me for this agony, too. He must know my children well, probably much better than I. His eyes were like those of another I'd known. I'd watch over this child for my boy.

As a twin, I know of what it means to feel as if you are only one part of a whole. But, as Artemis and I are both immortals, I will never know the pain that my child now has within him, as half of him is ripped away forever. His blue eyes locked on me, and they darkened. His eyes scathed me more than any of Ares' blades ever could. I felt another part of my soul ripped, as I'd felt it when a child of mine fell.

To him, I see, it's as if I am the one who murdered his sister. Maybe I'm worse. The one who'd made my children feel so unloved, angry and alone. The one that drove them into Kronos's merciless web of empty promises. Perhaps, if I'd thought for a moment as I do now, I would have been a better father to my children. They wouldn't have been taken from me. Taken from each other.

I feel as if it's time to go and visit my sister, tell her how much I love her. Then, I'll go see my children at Camp, Alex, Will, Austin, Kayla and all the others. I just need to see them, take solace in knowing they're still here, with me. With each other.

I know what I have to say, now.

"No, thank you."

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REVIEW PLEASE NOTHING MAJOR JUST A 'GOOD' OR A 'YOU SUCK!', even!

the boy that was holding alex's hand's name is hector cinth. descendant of hycacinth (spell?)


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